If former Bee Gee Barry Gibb was looking for some inspiration for the country album he plans to record in Nashville, Tenn., he couldn't have picked a more hallowed piece of ground to put down stakes.

Gibb bought and is restoring the lakefront house belonging to the late Johnny and June Carter Cash.

“It's going to be nice,” Gibb said. “We'd like to use it as our second home. I would like to come here and write songs. I am planning on making a country album. That is really who I am.”

Gibb, known for Bee Gees disco hits including “Staying Alive,” said he and his two sons have about three completed songs and several others in the works.

“I am a country artist, always have been a country artist, and this is my chance to get some self-expression out because the group is no longer the group,” he said.

Sometimes, Gibb says, he can sense Cash's spirit in the house.

“You feel like someone is watching,” he said. “You feel like there is a presence in the house of both Johnny and June. I still haven't seen a tall man wearing black clothes yet, but I am very much into it and hope that I do.”

AN E-TICKET MATCH

Rancic proposed to De-Pandi during a cozy helicopter ride over his hometown of Chicago. He sealed the deal with some deep-dish pizza, champagne, chocolate cake and a generous sprinkling of rose petals.

“At first I thought Bill was surprising me with a helicopter ride over downtown Chicago to see the Christmas lights, then suddenly he pulled out the most beautiful ring I have ever seen and asked me to marry him. I was so excited I could barely speak,” said DePandi.

“When we got back to his house, he had roses and rose petals scattered everywhere and a big chocolate cake sitting next to a bottle of our favorite wine. It was the best night of my life.”

The couple, who have been dating for nearly a year, are planning a late 2007 wedding in DePandi's native Italy, she says. It will be the first marriage for both.

Rancic, 35, has worked in various capacities for the Trump Organization since his reality show win, and will again appear as one of Donald Trump's sidekicks during the upcoming season of “The Apprentice,” which kicks off Jan. 7. DePandi, 31, anchors E! News opposite Ryan Seacrest.

“Nobody ever said, 'You're getting a little heavy.' Instead, they wrote scenes for me to dance around half-naked in my underwear. I went to Shonda Rhimes, the executive producer, and said ... 'Why me?' ...

“She just looked at me and said, 'Work it.' ” Ramirez did, and is comfy as a size 12.